Wife CarryingThis past weekend was a busy one for racing. In the Portland area was the Craig Cup, which is the USATF-ME cross country championship race.

Up at Sunday River, though, there were races both days. On Saturday was the North American Wife Carrying Competition, which oddly enough doesn’t require that the participants be married, just that they be adults.

It’s a short course that involves climbing over obstacles and through mud and water pits, and as of the last few years the woman is allowed to carry the man although it’s usually the woman that’s being carried:

On Sunday was the Mountain Epic, which is comprised of 3 races. The first race only summits 1 peak and is 4 miles long. The second race summits 5 peaks and is 8 miles long. The third race summits all 8 peaks and is 12 miles long. You get to finish all 3 races by going over the last few obstacles from the wife carrying competition.

I’ve been out there during the Summer to run the 8 peak course a few times but haven’t made it to the race yet. Which is a shame because it looks like a lot of fun, here’s a video from the first time we went out to try and map out the course: